Tag Obituaries
Former UW–Madison Chancellor Irving Shain dies at 92
Shain, who advanced the university’s interests in China and established University Research Park, died peacefully in Madison after a brief illness. He was 92.
Campus remembers graduate student Ian Santino
“Even as he was facing the many challenges of his illness, he went out of his way to befriend and support others,” his advisor says. “I will remember him always as a kind, caring person, an excellent TA who served as a mentor to many a talented scholar.”
Campus mourns loss of graduate student, advisor Colin Rohm, 26
UW–Madison graduate student Colin Rohm is being remembered by his campus colleagues as a scholar of uncommon talent and wide-ranging passions who nurtured the intellectual curiosity of thousands of his fellow students as a gifted advisor.
Celebrating the life and legacy of Jackie DeWalt
Jacqueline A. DeWalt, long-time community and education advocate at UW–Madison, will be remembered for her dedication to preparing and helping under-represented students to succeed in higher education, graduate school, and well beyond into adulthood.
Renowned biochemical engineer Edwin N. Lightfoot passes away
Edwin Lightfoot, Hilldale Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, passed away Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at age 92.
Charles Bentley, pioneering UW–Madison glaciologist, dies
Bentley was among the first scientists to measure the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the late 1950s. His findings resonate today as marine ice sheets are particularly vulnerable to melting and collapse in climate change scenarios.
Wunderlin embodied University Housing’s values
The longtime University Apartments carpenter, who died July 19 at the age of 60, is remembered by colleagues as an amazing staff member who had a strong work ethic.
In Memoriam: “Band Mom” Phyllis Leckrone
Leckrone served as “band mom” to thousands of marching band students with care, dedication and support.
UW to award Clyde Stubblefield posthumous honorary degree
Stubblefield wasn’t just a drummer. He was an innovator and an inspiration to musicians, both in his adopted home of Madison and around the world.
Trailblazing African history scholar Jan Vansina dies
Vansina's work led to acceptance in the academic world of oral traditions as valid sources of history, countering the once-prevalent attitude that cultures without texts had no history.
Colleagues remember Liz Beyler Kraak
Liz Beyler Kraak, 69, a former UW–Madison broadcast and university relations specialist, died Feb. 9 after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Legendary UW men’s hockey coach Jeff Sauer passes away
Sauer led the Badgers to 489 victories, the most victories for a UW coach in any sport. He guided Wisconsin to the 1983 and 1990 NCAA titles.
Former UW geneticist, Nobel laureate Smithies dies
Much of the work for which Oliver Smithies shared the Nobel Prize was performed at UW–Madison, where he was a professor from 1960 to 1988.
Hugh Iltis, UW’s ‘battling botanist,’ dies at 91
Passionate, articulate and informed, Iltis was opinionated, sometimes argumentative, but always a fearless defender of the natural world he revered.
Emeritus Professor Jack Fowler, pioneer in radiation biology, dies at 91
A physicist by training, Fowler gradually shifted his research emphasis and is considered one of the founders of modern radiation biology.
Paul Peercy, longtime engineering dean, passes away
Peercy focused on interdisciplinary experiences, innovations in teaching, and hands-on work that connected the technical aspects of engineering with real challenges facing society.
Joan Sweeney ‘cared deeply about helping students’
Joan Sweeney worked in the Work-Study office for more than 40 years, touching generations of students with her advocacy, advice and good humor.
Mara McDonald, ‘quintessential boundary crosser,’ dies at 68
Although the longtime assistant administrator in the Laboratory of Genetics and J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution retired from the university last year, she continued to touch lives.
Campus, family remember Beau Solomon
The 19-year-old study abroad student died in Rome last week. Solomon arrived in Italy Thursday to study at John Cabot University.
In memoriam: Peggy Leister
She served as an administrative professional in numerous departments during her 34 years at the university before retiring on April 4.